Mental Health: Overcoming the Struggle of Being an Outsider Looking In
Mental health, in Pakistan, is often overlooked and relegated to being an inconvenience. Alienating people struggling with their mental health perpetuates unhealthy stereotypes of mental illness. The stigma around seeking help, therapy, or medical help, leads to people not having adequate support systems. Inevitably, this feeds into a vicious cycle where the individual is left without a support system leading them to fall deeper into the clutches of their mental illness. However, another significant impact of this insidious problem is that society does not learn how to uplift its struggling members. Amid notions such as, ‘do not tell anyone about your mental illness, people never learn how to listen, empathize, and support someone who shares their struggles with mental health.
Consequently, snide remarks and judgmental looks become the normative way of dealing with the perceived ‘unusual’. But ignorance is not always bliss. Certainly not when one’s ignorance actively harms someone else’s life. Therefore, it is imperative that we educate ourselves about the spectrum of mental illness and cultivate empathetic modes of communication.
Step 1: Realisation of Personal Biases and Fears
Once, while shadowing a psychiatrist for a month at a local hospital, interacting with a schizophrenic patient stunned me.
The air is static except for the occasional low groans emanating from her throat. We sit across from each other—entangled in a complex web of emotions—a calculation taking place in my head: when to bolt. A slight shift in her posture exacerbates the ticking bomb of anticipation. A few minutes pass and the tension in the room diffuses. Throughout the internship, I dealt with patients compassionately. But with the comfort of supervision removed, I could not keep my fear at bay.
It prompted me to introspect. Was I comfortable interacting with her only if a doctor was present? The answer: not yet. While training myself to combat the fear of atypicality, I learned that there is no ‘Other’. We are all the same despite our differences: we must accept and cherish each other.
In one way or another, each of us has something that makes us uncomfortable: something that pushes us over the edge. It is vital to acknowledge and reflect on our biases and make an effort to educate ourselves and move past them.
Step 2: Become an Ally to People Struggling With Mental Health
Allyship can be a hard road to navigate. There are too many potholes one can fall into such as, unintentionally expressing pity, hijacking the narrative, making oneself the center of attention, etc. Even so, it is essential to continue putting in the effort to be an ally to people voicing mental health concerns. True allyship is amplifying the voices of those speaking up about their mental health issues, raising awareness, and starting healthy conversations about mental health. Each individual’s contribution will eventually spill into building an empathetic community. A community in which nobody’s struggle goes unheard and nobody feels excluded. Let’s forge a community where everyone can belong even if they do not fit the typical mould.
The process starts with you: talk to a friend or community member about how they are feeling. Listen empathetically and nurture the conversation with positivity!
Also read: Fatima Al-Fihri’s Contribution to Education and Lessons We Can Learn From Her
Mahrukh Murad is a Pakistani writer. She aspires to harness the creative streak in human nature and embody it in her work. Her poetry has previously been published in TeenInk, The Waggle magazine, The Pangolin Review, Rigorous Magazine, Pleiades Magazine. Her articles have been featured on The Nation and The Aman Project.
